Put Me Back Together
by Duchess Winter
Summary: It has been three years since monsters were set free from the Underground. Humans seem to finally accept their gradual integration into society. Not all humans, of course, but that was to be expected. The last three years were both a curse and a blessing for Y/n, head of the Guild of Mages, but she's about to learn that life still has surprizes in store. (ReaderXGaster)
1. Three Years Later

Warning #1: In this, Frisk gets a Pacifist Neutral and then a True Pacifist ending, without resetting a bunch of times to relive their adventures or to start a genocide just for funzies.

Warning #2: First three chapters have no Gaster in them. They're there so I can set the stage and so you can get the feel for the world. This story is plot-heavy, so you have been warned. But after the first three chapters Gaster will be by Reader's side about 95% of the time. So that's something.

I'll try my best to keep it interesting and I do HoPe you have fun reading.

* * *

"Sans," a young woman raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, looking at the skeleton sitting beside her.

"oh come on, Y/n, just one more. Come on, pal, I know you find my puns-"

"Don't-"

" _-humerus._ "

"Aaargh Saaans goddamn it, " the one called Y/n covered her eyes with her hand and shook her head, her smile however betraying that her frustration with the skeleton was dramatically exaggerated.

"you know you like it," he chuckles and takes a sip of his ketchup while Y/n removes her hand from her eyes and grabs hold of her cocktail - Grillby hired someone to make drinks and since then the business had been booming, as you could actually order something to drink now. Sans, however, still preferred ketchup. Or was just too lazy to change his habits.

"I do, " she smiles and her lips touch the cold glass as she finishes her drink. "Listen, Sans, it's getting late already, I should get going."

"right," he agrees."don't you have that trip tomorrow?"

"Yep, " she nods and takes out her wallet. "Let me take you home, I know you know 'shortcuts', but that way we can talk some more."

"sounds great, pal. Besides, it's good that you volunteered to give me a ride, 'cause I'm _bone_ tired."

Y/n lets out a short but genuine laugh and smiles widely at Grillby as she puts the money for her dinner plus a tip on the bar counter.

"You do know that you ruined a bunch of places for me, right, Grillby? Nowhere else compares, your burgers are simply the best."

It's a small detail, but the fire elemental's shoulders seem to proudly broaden and on his flaming face Y/n can discern an outline of a smile.

"...Thank you. Come back anytime."

"aw, you're so nice, Y/n. You can bring a _bright, warm_ smile to anyone's face."

"Sans," the young woman stands up and straightens her clothes. "One more pun and I'll reconsider being _carpals_ with you."

Sans' white lights-for-eyes shimmer with delight as he hops off the barstool and follows Y/n out of the bar.

Y/n walked into her apartment and threw her keys in a nearby bowl with a tired sigh. Leaving her darkbrown leather jacket and shoes by the entrance, she walked down the hallway, ignoring the door to her office and heading straight to the living room, where a laptop was sitting atop a small coffee table. Taking a seat on the sofa, Y/n opened the laptop and checked her e-mails. Being who she was, messages could come at any time on any day.

Tonight, however, there were just a few reports from her friends in the Research division about their findings and the contribution of Dr. Alphys in helping them understand some complex magic workings. Y/n smiled as her eyes ran through the letter. Alphys was more of an engineer, using magic where technology couldn't quite reach and improving existing inventions combining them with magic. Sans was the more magic-savvy individual, but for the purposes of this research Alphys was more than knowledgeable. She was also a kind, gentle soul and Y/n decided that she should drop by Alphys' work to thank her in person and maybe even give her a gift as a thank you. Maybe an anime-figurine. Or a cosplay item. Y/n would think on that.

When her phone rang and the screen showed the name of her Second in Command, she instinctively glanced at the clock on the wall.

23:24

Huh.  
Sans has long since put Papyrus to sleep, Frisk probably had succumbed to sleep while trying to read a book under the covers using a flashlight, even Aplhys was no doubt pulled from her work by Undyne to get some rest.

But no, Y/n had no privilege of leaving work conversations at work. With that thought and a sigh, she swiped right, answering the call.

"Guten Abend, Herr Graustein. Was kann ich fur Sie tun?"* she kept her tone professional, but warm at the same time as the man on the other end was no stranger to her.

"Guten Abend, Archmagister, " the man's voice was tired, but she noticed how it warmed up from her use of his native language. She tried to do that more often when they were speaking one-on-one.

"Herr Graustein..."

"Y/n, " he coughed, correcting himself. A stickler for rules, he would often forget himself and call her by her title in private conversations, even though he knew her since she was first admitted to the Mages Academy. He spoke again, continuing to use German: "I apologize for calling this late."

"It's no problem, really, " she gestured with her hand as if he could see it. "Did something happen?"

"No, everything is calm," he chuckled, "Isn't that a surprise?"

"Oh yes it is," she let out a quiet laugh. God, she was happy that the past year went by without any major incidents, things were finally calming down since monsters came from the underground.

"So, Y/n," the man cleared his throat, "You will be departing tomorrow evening, correct? Nothing changed?"  
The young Archmage smiled - the man was sometimes such a doting mother hen.

"Nothing changed, tomorrow at 18:00 my plane takes off and a few hours later I will be home, trying to get my overjoyed dog off me."

"I see, " he answered. "Y/n, you do remember to be careful? This whole monster hysteria has calmed down, but there are still people who are opposed to your way of dealing with things."  
"I know, " she sighed, feeling as if a pile of bricks was dropped on her shoulders, additional bricks being added by the second while the topic circled around politics, opposition groups and the like. "Herr Graustein, you know my family is careful and my father has installed every form of security measure you can think of, I even put some spells on the house just in case."

"I'm not talking about the safety of your family, I'm talking about yours."  
"Oh. Yes, that too. I'm not out for trouble, I just want to visit my hometown, my house, my family and friends," she sighed again and looked at the night city through the bulletproof windows. Fortunately, they've never come in handy, but the thought that they even had to be installed was unnerving enough.

"Y/n?" the voice of her teacher distracted her from her thoughts. She cleared her throat.  
"And besides, I'm the Archmage, it would take a bit of ingenuity to harm me, don't worry, " Y/n said, trying to calm the older mage down.  
"Several cleverly placed snipers. Or an explosive in your father's car. Or an even bigger explosion, maybe taking out a whole restaurant. I doubt radicals would mind a few dozen people as significant collateral damage-"

"Herr Graustein-"  
"I know...I know. I apologize. Things weren't heated for a while now, the number of radical opposition members has dwindled considerably and more and more of them are more agreeable now."  
"Of course, only morons wouldn't see that monsters mean us no harm."  
"Morons still account for a high number of the population."

Y/n smirked grimly.

"No argument there. But let's not delve into our usual philosophical musings on the prideful and prejudicial, lest you want me to fall into a misanthropic mood and go on and on about the types of people I hate until you accuse me of being anti-human and unfit to bear the title of Archmage."  
"My dear Y/n, you know full well that I'm far more fit to be accused of misanthropy than you, I have far more years of experience hating certain people," the older mage was now in a lighter mood and Y/n could hear papers being shoved aside.  
"Herr Graustein, if there's nothing else, then I thank you for your concern and order you as Archmage to go and get some rest. Get some flowers from the castle garden and give them to your husband as an apology for being home so late," the young woman giggled as she heard a thoughtful hum from the man.

"I'll inform the guard that I have your direct order to run around the garden picking flowers in the middle of the night."  
"You do that," she smiled, assured that her teacher could hear it in her voice."But no one would question you anyway, you know that."  
The man gave a satisfied smirk and the two of them exchanged goodbyes.

Yawning, Y/n stretched and the sound of her joints cracking reminded her of her skeleton friends. Stars, being around those two was a pleasure and a balm on her soul, which was worn out by the past three years of stress. Funnily enough the monsters - the reason she had so much work now - were the ones who would be able to make her relax.

It fell into the jurisdiction of the Guild of Mages when things involved magic or monsters. When, centuries later, the whole world thought that monsters didn't exist there was no reason for the government to look into or change that ancient rule. Heck, Y/n herself heard a couple of jokes from her aquaitances in City Hall that maybe it's her job to deal with monsters under the beds of their children. She even agreed to that once, when she was invited to dinner at the house of one of the official's. In the later hours of the evening their 5-year-old son came to the dining room after he had a nightmare and Y/n volunteered to walk them to their bedroom and, as The Archmage, scare the monster away. How ironic was it, that a while after the monsters came from the Underground that same kid asked her if she could maybe make a monster appear under his bed, as monsters were, apparently, the new GreatestThingEVER in children's minds. If only all the grown ups were just as excited.

As soon as monsters emerged from the Underground, she was there. King Asgore later theorized that her being the Archmage somehow attuned her soul to the Barrier and that's how she instantly felt when it shattered. When she reached the place where the Barrier had once been the sun was already setting, coloring the sky in shades of gold and casting a warm light on the inhuman figures standing near the top of the mountain where a huge hole was visible. Y/n remembered never being so scared in her life. Two weeks later the monsters were greeted by the Guild of Mages and later - the army, the police, and the news. It was a truly chaotic time and Y/n was more than impressed with how much understanding monsters handled all of it. Then again, monster hearts were made mostly from love, hope and compassion. What a bunch of cinnamon rolls.

While the government was in a state of panic and the military was debating which type of warfare would deal the monsters more damage, she and her advisors quickly stepped in, reserving the right to deal with the situation and reminding everyone that this was why the Guild was stationed near Mount Ebott in the first place. Even if the government wasn't convinced, they've already went public with the announcement and it would be a mess to give the general populace the impression that they didn't know what they were doing. Legally, they couldn't stop the Guild too, since no one bothered to change "that one line about monsters".

Since then, she and the Guild were dealing with every monster-involved incident, being blamed for everything that went wrong and being hated by certain people for everything that went right. Racism, prejudice, even homophobia came into the mix and sometimes late at night when she was dead tired but plagued by insomnia due to the sheer stress Y/n wondered if she should just off some people in the middle of the night. Luckily, the city and the areas around it became accustomed to the "new neighbors" and recognized their lack of ill intent relatively quickly. The rest of the world still debated the issue with varying intensity, but at least hometurf was a safe zone.

Then there was the social issue of interspecies relationships. Oh, that one was "fun". She distinctly remembers the hearing of the Supreme Court when a man cried out in exasperation something along the lines of "If we don't stop and don't punish this, then who knows what they'll do then!" and the lawyer replied "Yes, those two creatures loving each other, how DARE they do that! What will we tell our children, how do we explain the phenomenon that two beings love each other regardless of gender? Of race?". Oh she loved that lawyer so much at that moment. The irony didn't seem lost on the judge of African heritage who's son was dating a white guy. She didn't know how she resisted the urge to run up to the judge and kiss him when he announced that, at least in this country, love wins.

And the monster-human school! How much energy her and Toriel invested in that!

And the international trips with Asgore! Y/n refused to let the king, who had become her close friend, to be in any danger and used her Archmage status to accompany him to the countries he wanted to visit to establish monster-human relations.

And the issue of employment for monsters! And suitable living arrangements! And the media coverage! And the interviews! And the police and military protocol involving monsters! And infomercials, children's books and documentaries explaining to people what monsters really are! And all the scientific data researchers wanted to have! And those stupid parents who screamed that Mettaton was inappropriate for their children when said children ADORE him! UGH!

She was getting exhausted even thinking about all of it...

Y/n raised her hand and rubbed between her eyes, she felt that thanks to these few years she would get furrows there as well as on her forehead before she'll reach thirty. A "pleasing" thought, considering she was 25 now. Well, she was 25 for a while - mages aged a bit slower than regular humans, usually depending on their magic abilities which, in turn, depended on the wizard's attunement to their soul. Being an Archmage, her chances of living long were quite high - if no one kills her that is.

"That's it," the thought, standing up and, grabbing her phone and laptop, walking to the bedroom. "Netflix & sleep."

Half a season of Mettaton's fabulous film noir parody series later, she finally fell asleep.

* * *

So that was the first chapter!  
Not the most spectacular one in the world but it had Sans, so that already makes it sansational, right?  
...I'll shut up now, bye.


	2. The Broken Barrier

She was in the middle of riding her horse when she heard it.  
A loud breaking sound as if someone just broke a large mirror right in front of a powerful microphone.  
Stopping the stallion which has been galloping through the planes, Y/n looked around and listened intently. Nothing. Just the quiet swaying of grass and the gentle rustle of leaves.

No, that couldn't be right. She definitely heard something.

The young Archmage looked around again. Somewhere deep in her SOUL, however, she already knew the answer.

 _"No...no, nononono- No. I'm just going insane. Even that's more plausible than-"_ It couldn't be. It just couldn't.  
Y/n looked at Mount Ebott, which was standing just beyond the forest. Somehow, however, it felt like the strange sound came from somewhere else. That's good, right? Y/n's eyes drifted to a smaller mountain standing right across the forest.  
If it wasn't Mt. Ebott, then maybe it was nothing major...She should still investigate.

As the raven-black stallion navigated through the forest, a million thoughts ran through her mind.  
She read the legend. It was so long ago, nothing that could be considered evidence remained in the Guild's castle or anywhere else. Even if it was true, her teachers once told her, most likely Mt. Ebott was a mass grave, a crypt, the final resting place for the mythical beasts. Was there even a barrier? The place where it should have been was lost to time and was probably covered by a landslide or something anyway, right? Should she call for help? Her phone was in the pocket of her jacket, she could- No. She should make sure first. If she made a fool of herself it would do no good to her what if, what if there were actually...

 _"Monsters..."_ was her one and only thought as her horse stopped at the foot of the mountain and she saw the inhuman figures standing high above, on the edge of one of the mountain's protrusions, a huge gaping hole behind them.  
She felt like her heart dropped into her stomach. She felt lightheaded yet painfully aware. This was...Oh stars, this was a disaster in the making! Soon the army will come and she'll be the one leading her mages into battle and there'll be a war. Will there be a war?  
As she came out of her panicked thoughts, she realized that she'd lead her horse up the mountain and in mere moments she'll reach the place where she saw the monsters.  
 _"At least, if the legends are true, I can take them on, they say monster souls are weaker than-"_

That was her last thought before her stallion took a turn and she was met with 7 pairs of eyes staring at her in shock.  
There was a nervewreaking silence.

She took the seconds to eye each creature warily, her mind working in overdrive due to adrenalin. There was The King - undoubtedly, he wore a crown and royal armor and was the largest monster in the group. Y/n couldn't help but think that he looked like the Monster king described in the legend - could this one be his descendant? Then there was a fish...monster...woman? She was also quite tall, not as huge as the monstrous goat-type king, but easily a good 2 meters and she had an eyepatch covering her left eye. Behind her, a smaller yellow dinosaur-lizard monster in a labcoat raised her hands to her mouth in shock. There were also two skeletons - though with somewhat inhuman skull proportions - one was about her height and had a terrifying stare, one eye socket being pitch black and the other bearing a magical eye that burned cyan, the other was almost as tall as the fish-monster and bore very unusual clothing as well as a shocked expression on his face...skull. Lastly, there was a goat-like monster, similar to the royal one, but it's features were softer, Y/n was sure it was female. When the young Archmage's eyes landed on the small figure the monster was holding by the hand, time seemed to unfreeze for her as she called out:

"A human?...Where did-"  
"OH MY GOD IS THAT A HORSE-"  
"papyrus wait-!"  
"SANS THAT IS A HORSE!"

The skeleton ran forward, arms outstretched and Y/n could only hold on as her stallion reared up, standing on his hind legs, raising a cloud of dust with a loud stomping sound.  
"WOWIE IT IS MAGNIFICENT!"  
The taller skeleton didn't seem scared by the horse's thrashing but still stopped running and stood still, maybe acknowledging that he spooked the equine. As Y/n expertly calmed the stallion down and he stood on all four hooves again, she spoke absentmindedly, the stress of seing monsters and calming the huge stallion down scrambling her thoughts a bit:  
"If you like the horse, you may pet him. Just make it slow-"  
"OH WOWIE-"  
"...and speak softer."  
"OH. Oh. Right."

As the skeleton approached, the situation dawned on her again and she looked over the group of monsters again. They seemed as on edge as she was, but somehow her absentminded agreement to let the skeleton pet the horse seemed to put them at ease a little.  
They all, Y/n included, watched in silence as the monster cautiously neared the stallion.

"T-That's it, good horsie...Wowie, Sans, look, a real horse, just like in my book..."  
Out of the corner of her eye Y/n could see that the smaller skeleton's eye no longer glowed cyan, a white speck of light appearing in each eyesocket. And...was he sweating a bit?  
"sure bro, just be careful," she heard him speak, a voice much deeper than the first one's.  
As the skeleton was close enough, he reached out with his mitten-wearing hand and Y/n could hear herself muttering softly:  
"Slowly...you can start at the mane or neck."  
This was unreal, she thought as the skeleton began petting her stallion, battling with himself not to scream from excitement. _"A skeleton. A skeleton in petting my horse. Monsters are real. They're here. One is petting my horse."_  
"Wowie...this is amazing. What's the horsies name?" the skeleton looked up at her and she stared into those eyeless eyesockets for a moment before forcing herself to remain calm and unfazed. The creature did not seem to harbor any ill intent as far as she could feel from his magic. The stallion seemingly thought so as well as he let the monster pet him.  
"Obsidian," she replied, petting the stallion's mane, "Sid for short."

As the skeleton was petting and murmuring praises to the stallion, completely ignoring the delicate situation of the first surface monster-human contact in centuries, Y/n looked at the other monsters again. By now, it seemed that everyone has calmed down quite a bit. This seemed the best time to try talking again. Y/n cleared her throat.  
"I'm sorry for startling you all. My name is F/n L/n."  
"H-howdy, Miss L/n," the huge goat-creature spoke, his golden mane catching the setting sun's light and his deep, soft voice making it hard for Y/n to believe that he meant her harm...at least for now."My name is Asgore. This is Alphys, Undyne, Sans, Toriel, Frisk and Papyrus. We, ugh, don't mean any harm. The barrier just broke so we are here enjoying the lovely sunset."

Right. **RIGHT.** Oh shit, they haven't seen the sun in ages, in generations! She was so dim, she told herself. She looked at the sun, it was almost half-gone, hiding behind the horizon.  
The monsters did not seem hostile, not now anyway. She should offer a gesture of good will, shouldn't she?  
 _"You should at least be considerate,"_ she thought to herself, half-scolding. _"It'll also give you time to observe them and think,_ " a more pragmatic thought followed.

"It's your first sunset on the surface, right?" she asked softly, letting her gaze drift over the monsters and the perfectly content human child - she WILL find out about what's the deal with that the first chance she has - and looking back to the king. He nodded.  
"Then please, don't let me stop you from enjoying it. Sunsets are a fleeting thing, we can talk after," she spoke again, earning a look of surprise from the monsters.  
"Oh, well...thank you, Miss L/n," king Asgore nodded. The fish-monster gave her an "I've got my eye on you" look before resuming to look at the setting sun, taking the dinosaur-like monster's hand in hers. The goat-lady nodded and with a soft "Thank you, child" resumed to marvel at the setting star together with the...boy? Or was it a girl? Asgore called them Frisk. The shorter skeleton, however, did not stay at his spot and walked over to where she and Papyrus were. As far as she could tell the tall skeleton was telling her horse about all the adventures they could have together.  
"so, ugh, mind getting off your high horse and greet a new friend, bud?"

Oh shit was her sitting on her horse offensive? She should have thought of that, she just felt more secure when she could look at the huge goat- and fish-monsters straight in the eye and not from her average human height. Were they offended or was Sans the only one who noticed yet?

"SA-Saaans, do you Have to use puns now?"  
Oh. Was he joking? Y/n blinked in confusion as she looked at the two skeletons discussing the timeliness of puns. Her teacher would freak out if he knew how she botched the "greeting the monsters" part. Not that they ever had any classes on that.  
She decided that she should get off the horse anyway and in a swift move her feet hit the ground, causing the two monsters to stop talking and look at her.  
"Wowie...you're not that tall at all," Papyrus said, looking at Y/n, who was now reaching his clavicle at most.  
"I guess, " she laughed a bit nervously and petted the stallion's side more in an effort to calm herself than the animal. It was not that she was too short, the skeleton was just tall enough to go pro at basketball.  
"so, about that greeting," the smaller skeleton extended a hand and she looked at the bones, the phalanges moving without any muscle needed. Magic. Pure magic.  
It was...amazing.  
Before getting too excited, she reached out and took the bony hand in hers, shaking it heartily but without too much force.  
"sans. sans the skeleton," he declared.  
"Y/n," she answered although she already introduced herself earlier.  
His fingers, however, did not unclench immediately and he quietly said:  
"listen, buddy, we really don't mean any harm, y'know?"  
"I...find that more and more likely by the minute," she honestly answered. The skeleton seemed to like the reply and let go of her hand.  
"good. good. 'specially Papyrus here, he's a real cool guy, y'now? a real kind soul," he continued and Y/n felt that his words carried more weight that could be thought at first. The young Archmage looked at the taller skeleton, who was entranced in watching the sun set.  
"I believe that, Sans. You care about him a great deal," she pointed out. Sans shrugged.  
"well sure, he's my brother. the best bro one could have. so I just wanna make sure no harm comes to him," his last words were laced with seriousness that Y/n could understand all too well, having used smiles and laughs to mask her emothions her whole life. There was a spark of understanding between them and she nodded, looking the monster straight in the eyesockets.  
"I come in peace, Sans. I would never harm someone as cool as your brother," she smiled, her nonchalant words being betrayed by her serious tone.  
"good," the shorter skeleton nodded too and turned to admire the last few moments of the sunset. "because, y'now, nobody wants to have a bad time."  
"Nobody wants to have a bad time," she agreed supressing the urge to gulp at how thinly veiled the threat was. Y/n turned to face the disappearing sun, thinking that this skeleton may have the strongest magical aura she had ever felt - and he made sure she felt it.

The sun had set. The last golden rays have died down, the sky was now colored in blues and violets, getting darker by the minute.  
Soon, Sans and Papyrus left, Sans saying it was Papyrus' bedtime and the latter protesting that he wanted to go meet humans right now, but already yawning. The one called Undyne was reluctant to leave the king's side, but Asgore insisted she and Alphys get some rest and, shooting Y/n a glare, the captain of the royal guard left, accompanied by the royal scientist. Only Y/n, Asgore, Toriel and Frisk were left, the child seemingly very tired.  
"I don't suppose we can postpone your questioning regarding Frisk?" Toriel's voice was somewhat concerned, but content. Y/n saw them talking about something earlier, but did not overhear what about, only that it left the goat-lady very happy. The young woman looked over to Frisk. She was watching them all this time, they didn't seem scared or depressed, they looked perfectly happy. Y/n crouched infront of the child, looking them in the eyes and asked:  
"Frisk, are you okay? Did the monsters treat you well?"  
"Yep!" the kid enthusiastically nodded and gave her a thumbs up.  
"I see," she smiled. "Then, you want to go with Lady Toriel and get some sleep?"  
"Yep, I wanna go with mom, have some butterscotch-cinnamon pie and go to sleep," they answered.  
Y/n's eyebrows rose as the child called the goat-monster "mom", but if that wasn't a telltale sign that they would be okay for a day at least, then she didn't know what was.  
"Okay then, Frisk, we'll talk later," she patted the kid on the shoulder and got a huge grin from them. She rose to her feet and nodded to Toriel. As the two were walking off, Frisk turned around and asked:  
"You'll come back, right? I need to bring my other shirt so you can sign it."  
"Frisk, my child, why in the world would you want the young miss Y/n to sigh your shirt?" Toriel giggled.  
"Because she's the Archmage of course! It'll be kinda cool to have her autograph on my stuff!"

It became dead silent. The two Boss Monsters looked at her wide-eyed and the only thing Y/n could do is keep calm and be glad Undyne wasn't there anymore.  
"I figure we need to talk, Your Majesty."

***

Asgore lead her to his throne room and, to be honest, it wasn't like anything you could imagine the King of Monsters would have. It was a garden, a beautiful garden with golden flowers blooming everywhere and with a throne standing in the middle of the room. Asgore seemed hesitant, but asked it she was willing to take this to the study, but judging by the king's willingness to stay near his garden Y/n thought it best to opt for that. Asgore appreciated the gesture.  
He put a chair and a small coffee table in front of his throne and offered her some tea. She thought about politely refusing out of caution, but a feeling in her soul told her to accept. So she did. As the king poured the tea from the same pot in both their cups and took a sip himself, she was comfortable enough with tasting the pleasantly smelling drink. It was delicious.  
But she wasn't there for the tea.  
"So, Your Majesty, " she started, but was cut off by Asgore raising his fur-covered clawed hand and softly speaking:  
"Please, Lady Archmage, you may call me Asgore," he smiled and if she was more naive, she wouldn't have noticed that the smile was, although warm, but nervous. Somehow, it pained her to see the majestic king being so uneasy even if she understood that in this situation it was completely normal.  
"Then please call me Y/n," she answered with a smile of her own, hoping it would have a calming effect. Somehow she managed to stay relatively calm in this situation, she gathered it was because she couldn't feel any violent intent from the king or the other monsters.  
"Very well, Y/n, " the huge monster seemed to calm down a little, his broad shoulders relaxing.  
Then they talked. They talked about what monsters were, how Frisk had fallen to the Underground, what the monsters were expecting from living on the surface. It was...overwhelming. It was the middle of the night when Y/n distressed eyes found Asgore's and he worriedly asked her if she was too tired. Huh, souls of love and compassion indeed.

"Asgore...Asgore, listen," she said, her voice thick with worry."You can't go to the surface...Not now." She corrected herself when she saw the shock and pain clearly written across the king's face.  
"Not just yet. Asgore, listen to me, please," she let out a sigh, not breaking eye contact, somehow hoping that that way the monster could see she was honest."You know about the War of Humans and Monsters, you know that if humans are scared they band together against the thing that scares them and do absolutely everything to wipe it from existance. Humans have much potential for good things, but we are horrifying when it come to ways we can do harm. Please, Your Majesty- Asgore, you need to give me some time to speak to someone who can help us with this. You need to ready your people, to remind them to be careful, to let them know what to expect."

She stared into the monster's eyes, clearly seeing the moment when her words reached him. It should have been hard to stomach, with freedom in hand's reach.  
Asgore gave an exhausted sigh, but at least he was not furious with her. No matter how polite and soft-spoken, he was still a giant compared to her and she would hate to anger him.  
"You are very kind, Y/n," she heard him say and snapped out of her thoughts, looking at his face again."I doubt many in your position would be so considerate."  
"I..." her voice fell silent. This was, indeed, not what was expected of her. But what _was_ expected of her, exactly? The protocol on such an event was lost and the only rule she had was that in was the Guild's jurisdiction when things came to magic and monsters. So, basically, she had to deal with it. And as to how - it came to her decisions as Archmage.  
"I refuse to let this end in a massacre," she stated finally. Asgore nodded.  
They've reached a conclusion that Asgore would tell his people to wait two weeks. Going out to where the barrier once was was acceptable, but not further. Y/n would supply the monsters with enough historical and other information to how best to act when they come to the surface. She wouldn't leave out facts as to how cruel people can be to remind them to be always careful. She would give them books with anatomy facts, especially helpful for monster children so they know how not to harm humans. No one besides the group she already met would need to know about Y/n's involvement. The less possibilities for it later being discovered that the Archmage did something like this - the less problems she would have.

When she was about to leave, she noticed that Asgore seemed uneasy. Taking a moment, she thought she knew why.

"You think I'm lying to you," she spoke, her voice soft. The king didn't answer, just looked at the sky that was beginning to brighten as dawn came closer.  
"You think I'll run, gather the mages and we'll seal you away again," she continued and could clearly see how the king's hand twitched and his eyes narrowed.  
"Asgore," she called and, when the monster turned to her, she could feel her heart breaking for the king who's people were so badly mistreated by her own. She couldn't have the nerve to just tell him to make his people wait that long and hope she honors her word. She almost never gave promises, but if she did she always kept them. But he did not know her, so she couldn't expect him to trust her.

She took a deep breath and brought her hand to her chest.

"You're right, humans aren't trustworthy creatures," she said quietly as she slowly, carefully pulled her soul from her chest. Asgore's eyes widened as he saw the bright glow of the heart-shaped soul and he looked at Y/n unsure what she was going to do as she did not seem willing to fight him.

"That's why," she continued, slowly circling her soul with her finger multiple times, almost touching it, "mages invented a spell. It is known that the only magic there is - well, at least, for us - is soul magic. We can't cast fireballs, but we can use soulprojections and a few spells that affect things that have a soul. Ourselves included."

There was a thin white magic string appearing in places where her finger hovered over her soul until, finally, it wrapped around it completely.

"So, you see, this is a Vow Spell, " her voice wavered, she only used this spell once in her life and that was in context of studying it. "If I break my word, you get to pull the string."

She stepped toward the shocked monster, extending her hand with the string lying in her palm, shimmering as if it was a spiderweb.  
"You get to shatter my soul, Asgore," she spoke, her voice quiet but determined. The monster king, however, looked terrified.

"N-no, no! I will not," he sighed, almost howled painfully and it was almost as if the color has been drained from his golden mane and amber eyes. "I shall not. It is a horrific spell, Y/n, I shall not use it."

Y/n smiled sadly.

"I want you to trust me, Asgore. This is the only guarantee I can give you."

It was painful to watch the huge goat-monster, he seemed to be falling apart, looking at the white string in her hand.

"I-I don't need this to trust you, Y/n," he said, finally. "Your readiness to go this far and, most of all, the vibrant color of your soul are enough."

She stared at the king, surprised, but letting go of her concentration, making the thread disappear and letting her soul back into her body.

"Yes, that's better, my child..." the king spoke softly and Y/n could see tears in his eyes. Before she could think she was already hugging the monster, his arms embracing her as well. She could feel his muzzle in her hair, but she didn't mind at all, letting the king go only when his breathing evened out. She assured the king that she would be back tomorrow first thing in the morning, bringing the promised books and videos and ready to discuss their plan in more detail.

Next morning she was there with the first morning rays, bringing two mages along with her. Asgore was waiting.

***

It was four days after her fist encounter with monsters and Y/n was visiting the Underground again.

She wasn't there for the last two days as she had loads to do on her end, especially since she didn't bring anyone into this except her Second in Command - an older mage by the name of Wolfgang Graustein - and his husband, Arkady. Both mages were shocked as expected, but fortunately trusted her enough to give monsters a chance. After the first meeting with Asgore, Toriel and the others who were already involved, the two men agreed that steps had to be taken to make the reunion of the two races as peaceful as possible. The mages even found a minute for making friends, Arkady participating in a friendly battle with Undyne while Wolfgang somehow mostly coaxed Alphys out of her anxious state and spent a while discussing the mix of science and magic.

After that Y/n was slammed with things to do and she could only hope that the preparations were going well on Asgore's side as well. Now sitting in his study, drinking golden flower tea, she listened to Asgore and was glad they were. The monsters, while at first disappointed by the delay, quickly saw reason and were now eagerly studying the do's and dont's, the cultural norms and even some basic legal laws. In fact, Y/n spent the night compiling some PowerPoint presentations on human history which she gave to Alphus as soon as she arrived in hopes that it would help. Thank the maker monsters had computers. Old ones, mostly, but still. Alphys was a remarkable engineer to salvage and bring to life so much technology even if she did use magic to help herself out. Asgore, it seems, did not get much sleep too. It was understandable, he was a king who was about to lead his people into a whole new way of life, he was under a lot of stress. But still he was always kind and Y/n admired that.

"So, Asgore," she said as she put her empty cup on the matching cup plate."You really want to hear the history of the Mages Guild? I didn't think you would have much interest as you don't have any reason to like us."

She stated that plainly, refusing to hide under pretty words or avoid the subject. The mages took part in the War and created the Barrier, monsters had every reason to hate them.

"I have you," Asgore said with a tired smile."And Wolfgang, and Arkady. So far, I have a reason to give the Guild a chance."  
"You're too kind," she said with a half-smile, but in her tone he could hear she was thankful.  
"Well," she started, but then fell silent. Asgore, as she learned on their first meeting, was Old - he was a Boss Monster, he was born on the surface, was the same king who fought in the war and, in the end, made the choice to retreat to Mt. Ebott to save the rest of his people. Since then, all these years he lived in the Underground, as they called it.

Y/n got a lump in her throat everytime she thought of that.

"Huh, I think someday you'll maybe tell me a few things I don't know about the early years of the Guild, hah, as we humans tend to forget our own history fairly easily..." her voice faltered and she looked at the concerned monster's face before looking at her hands.  
"I'm so sorry, Asgore."

It was the only thing she could think of recently - what Asgore has been through, how the monsters have lived, what humans did to them all those centuries ago. The more she thought about it, the more horrifying it became.

"Y/n, you already apologized," she heard the soothing voice of the king, but only shook her head.

"No amount of apologies would ever be enough, Asgore," she sighed heavily. "History showed that with monsters or without - it's humans who are the bloodthirsty beasts. We always find who to turn against. It's our nature."

Asgore seemed like he wanted to protest, but she shook her head again.

"I know there are people, good people, people like Frisk. Like my parents, like Herr Graustein, like his husband and many more. I want to believe that in the years that you were here we as a species became at least a bit better. I think we did. I only hope that will be enough to make this all go over well."

"Not a big believer in people, I see," Asgore's smooth voice was filled with understanding.

"I believe in those I know. I want to believe in those i don't. But, as my father always said 'Hope for the best, be ready for the worst'."

"You're the Archmage, Y/n, won't the people listen to you?" Asgore tilted his head to the side, a thoughtful expression on his face. The young Archmage chuckled grimly, a hollow, joyless sound.

"Maybe now. Good thing it's not what, a couple hundred years ago?"

The king stared at her in confusion as she took a deep breath, concluding it was finally time for the brief overview of history she promised him.

"Long, long ago, if legends are to be believed then it would be right after the Human/Monster War ended, right near Mt. Ebott a castle was build with stone and magic to serve as a home for those mages who were supposed to be the first line of defence if the Barrier ever broke," Asgore poured them both some more tea and Y/n nodded in thanks before continuing. "Decades went by, some started to wonder if it was necessary to guard the Barrier at all and if their gifted brethren were the new danger. It was unnerving, humans who used magic as if they were monsters, who understood the subtle workings of a thing so intangible, so abstract as a soul."

That caught Asgore's attention, he furrowed his brow a little, no doubt sensing where the story was heading. Y/n just looked at him with a small frown and continued:

"Years passed, and in a couple generations the war was but a distant echo in the minds of people, the monsters - no more than legends, the last free one destroyed not long after the Barrier was put in place. In time, the ruling class and the simple folk alike turned on those whose powers were "otherworldly", "blasphemous", "satanic" and a new bloody page was written in the history of mankind - shamans gunned down, wizards thrown into rivers with boulders attached to them, witches burned at the stake."

Y/n paused, giving the king time to process that. Sad e/c eyes met shocked amber ones as the king stared at her in disbelief.

"No..It could not be. Mages were revered. They were beings who could be more in-tune with their souls than most others, people came to them for help-" the monster stopped himself and cast his eyes downward, the cruelty of mankind dawning on him. Y/n sighed.

"The mages should have seen it coming. In a way, maybe it was karma catching up to them for having a hand in the war against creatures who, from the very beginning, meant humanity no harm," she chuckled, again, the sound bore no joy in it, only sadness and some irony. When Asgore looked up at her again, she continued:

"Those who were lucky to escape, to hide, to blend in would teach their children that there was no magic and, if the signs were too obvious to ignore, would teach how to suppress the "strange" and "dangerous" abilities."

She saw by his expression that what she was saying was blasphemy to the king. Monsters were made of magic, teaching a child to repress and hide their magic was telling them to repress themselves.

"It was either that, or to die and bring your entire family down with you," she pointed out and the king nodded, it was clear that he understood, however it still made him sorrowful.

"For a long time, there were "no wizards" in the land. And then war came. A hellish thing, a messy, bloody festival of death, of poisonous dust falling from the sky. That was when, even while knowing what could happen to them, some people came forth with their gifts - healing soldiers, shielding fellow men, displaying feats no simple human could do. It was somewhat clumsy, people gingerly trying to recreate how their grandmothers or grandfathers used to do it "that one time" sometime in their life. Humans, as you know, are not as attuned to their souls as monsters, we are only capable of magic that is tied to the soul directly. So it was more than often when as a mage's green shoul-shield was broken, the next bullet or two were the ones that shattered their soul or caused a fatal wound to the body.

That was when the higher ups noticed, when old records were pulled, when the descendants of the proud wizards of old were deemed a very useful strategical advantage. There weren't many, the Dark ages was the time when the majority were hunted down and killed, after all. By the end of what was later called World War I, there was even less."

She took her cup into her hands and took a sip while at the same time looking at the monster king with worry. He was, with all of his strength, moral and physical, a very kind soul. The loss of innocent life seemed to be a trigger for him and Y/n tried to gauge when to pause her narrative to give him a moment to breathe. Asgore seemed terrified by what he had heard - sure he caught snippets of information from what books and movies fell through the waterfall, but never would he ever think of something like this. Y/n took a deep breath and continued.

"Then came World War II."

Asgore visibly shuddered. The young Archmage reached out and put her small hand on his massive paw-like one. They just sat there for awhile before the king looked at her and nodded.

"By the time it was over, the number of the world's magic-wielding humans was somewhere around fifty. By then, however, the knowledge of mages and their abilities was widespread and for their efforts in the war the government recognized them as a special, useful people. The status of mages was restored after World War I, the remaining historical landmarks tied to mages given to them to use as they saw fit. Not that there was much left, the dark ages, the war and time itself having done it's damage. After WWII, mages were given priviledges if they chose to be useful to the government. Not long after, however, the Guild of Mages was reformed and their duties returned to being somewhat what they have been in the times of old - aiding humanity through use of magic. Though, it's mostly research on our part.

As the castle near Mt. Ebott - while in an awful state of disrepair - was still standing, the government recommended that the Guilds Headquarters should be there. The Guild's Archmage was not against the idea, as the castle had a very important enchanted maze under it and the area around it was known to be a very bountiful place for magic-users. 70 years have passed since then. The castle was restored to it's former glory and became a place more for research and study than for anything else. A part of the castle is used as an academy for gifted children, where they are taught how to control their magic. As mages are incredibly rare, people come from different parts of the world and - excluding some classes - are usually taught individually, the number of students in the castle never in all these years being higher than...well..nine. So, that's where we are now."

Y/n looked at Asgore, waiting for his reply, for his judgment on the human race. Would he say the mages deserved it? Would he say that humans were awful, disgusting creatures?

The king closed his eyes in sorrow and took her hand in his more firmly.

"I see now why you were so worried about us leaving the Undergroung too soon," he finally spoke. She only nodded. "Those files you brought to Alphys, they were on human history, correct?"

"Yes," she sighed.

"Good," he nodded. "We were here long enough to become somewhat naive to the workings of the world. We are fortunate to have you, Frisk and your advisor to help us."

Y/n let out a heavy sigh she has been holding for a while.

"Y/n?"  
"I was worried you'd be disgusted by humans altogether, me included," she honestly replied, the look of confusion on Asgore's face making her smile, a shy little smile the king had never seen before.

"I would never...I couldn't have asked for a better Archmage to discuss the future of monsters and humans with. Or to call my friend."

Looking at the huge goat-like monster and his gentle smile, Y/n swore it was impossible not to want to hug what the heck. She hugged him as tightly as she would her own father. He gladly hugged her back.

These monsters were just too good for this world, really.


	3. Falling Down

"hey, hey, wake up, Y/n,"

"Whaa-" the young woman pryed her eyes open with great deal of effort. Did Sans teleport himself into her apartment?

"good morning, pal," she heard the voice again. It was coming from her phone. Ah, so he recorded himself to be her alarm tune again, that's-

"Hope you're not too sad, after all-"  
"Oh no..."  
" it's _mourning_ time!"

"Oh my god..." she hid her head under the pillow in an attempt to escape the skeleton's voice. To no avail.  
"so you wanna turn on the radio, right? you do have _AM_ radio right?"  
Her shoulders twitched. It was so bad.

"hey Y/n, wanna know how long it takes for me to put on my underwear in the morning? just _briefly._ "  
She wailed under her pillow, the wail however turning into laughter as the puns kept coming.  
"huh, so..the puns start coming and they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming and they don't-"

"OH. MY. GOD. **NO.** " finally she threw her pillow off her head, reached out, grabbed her phone and turned off the alarm.  
Sans seemingly learned every meme in existance and now Y/n had to deal with memes new and old alike everytime she met him. It was horrible.

It was fantastic.

"Or should I say... _sanstastic_? Pfff" she burts out laughing and threw her hear back on the pillow.  
Sans was definitely having an influence.  
She thought for a while and then shot Sans a text message:

/Because of you I'm hitting my alarm so frequently, I'm afraid one day it'll hit me back. That'll be alarming./

She knew he would answer her when he'd wake up, which, by her estimations, would be in a couple of hours. Y/n stretched and spend half an hour just lazily checking things on her laptop before forcing herself to get up. Today she was going on vacation, lot's to do before then.  
She showered, ate a bit of breakfast, lost herself on the internet again before finally getting dressed. Grabbing her phone, she swiped and selected the ITEM menu - it displayed that two out of ten slots were currently taken. Gods and stars and everything else praise the great for giving her the Beta version of this device to test. It save her so much place and energy travelling.

Y/n thought a little and then proceeded to store items in the device. It had restictions, naturally you could'nt just throw two full bags of luggage in there, but it was spacious enough. Soon her ITEM menu was full with:

Sundress Sandals  
Black pants Tactical turtleneck  
Pumps Umbrella  
Sir C. Doyle's Grillby's Burger  
Anti-stress pills Water bottle

She looked at her screen, satisfied with her choice. The clothes were enough to last her a week at home, the book would keep her company during her trip, the burger will be a tasty snack before her flight and the pills never left her side for the last three years. Sometimes she wouldn't need them at all for a week or more, but other days they were a necessity so she always kept them nearby. Nothing strong, herbal medicine pressed into small capsules, but very important when you feel yourself shaking from stress or wanting to kill some racist dumbass.

Y/n also packed some small stuff into her shoulder bag - documents and some make up mostly. She then looked at the time - 11:03. Perfect, time to run some errands and then head to the airport.

Just then, she heard a notification on her phone. It was a message from Sans.

/heh, not bad, bud. don't forget to ring me up as soon as you're back so we can ketchup/  
With a goofy smile plastered on her face, Y/n rolled her eyes and answered:  
/I'll miss you and Papyrus so much, the first thing I'm doing when I come back is going to see you two. Though, I donut think Papyrus will appreciate our puns./  
A few minutes later she received a voice message of Papyrus screaming "OH MY GOD SANS", slamming the door shut and then adding "AND I'LL MISS YOU TOO Y/N" from behind the door. The following message stated:  
/showed him our convo. have a safe trip, Y/n. /  
She smiled warmly and texted her thanks followed by a bunch of heart emojis - blue ones for Sans and orange ones for Papyrus - before heading out the door.

It was almost 12:00 when Y/n parked her car at one of the city's major hospitals.  
The Guild had a couple of medically-trained mages stationed there at all times in case conventional means could not help/wouldn't help fast enough. Healing with magic did take a toll on the mages energy levels, so they took shifts and the doctors were sure to send only cases that were actually matters of life and death their way. Even then, the amount of people coming from all around was huge.

Y/n had her mages working in hospitals on all continents. Others were sent all around the world in search of lost knowledge on magic and maybe even monsters that at some point in history lived in faraway lands. The remaining mages were either scientists, teachers or here busy in the civil division - being lawyers, media rep's or police advisors. There were also those who did not stay in the guild and were living their lives outside of it - Y/n would never force anyone to anyway, nor did her predecessor. Such mages, however, were required to report to HQ for physical and mental examination every two years. And then there were the young ones, who were just learning about their gifts at the Academy and Apprentices, who were just learning the ropes of their chosen careers. Including all these types of mages, however, it still made a number of under 200. Though higher than after the wars, her sociologists stated that that number probably wouldn't increase in a couple of generations at least.

Usually, only the need to choose a new Archmage brings all of the mages together. But three years ago, everyone was called to the castle and it felt like it was never as crowded as then. With everybody on high alert, it took all of the mages being present for the government to be convinced that the Guild could handle it if the monsters did turn out to be hostile.

"Good thing that's over," Y/n sighed as she took her purse as well as a big plastic bag and walked into the hospital. The High Alert status was lifted half a year after the monsters appeared and gradually more and more mages were cleared to return to their lives. By the second anniversary of the monster's freedom almost all of the mages returned to their prior duties except those who decided to stay and help out the monsters, be it by informing and training police officers how to handle things when monsters were involved or by helping monsters get jobs or even figure out paperwork. Some of her mages really impressed Y/n, it seemed that the monsters really brought out the best in some people.

Of course, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows as some mages were dissatisfied with her policies enough to leave the Guild. But, then again, some rejoined out of the same reasons, so she wanted to think that it was for the best. She knew it was. Didn't help, however, that one of the mages who left with a scandal was once her close friend since the first Academy years. Even if they were not as close by then, differences in opinions and principles drawing a casm between them long before, at that moment it still was painful to be as disrespected and as hated by them as she was. Two years later, however, the pain dulled and turned into a kind of sad feeling for the person who was so hateful of others.

"Y/n!" a voice of one of her oldest friends, Stacy, made her delve out of her thoughts and smile widely. Stacy was her friend since the Academy. She had a brilliant mind, even if it could get somewhat clouded my her emotional, impulsive nature. Stacy had become one of the resident MedMages in the hospital not too long ago and was actively advocating letting monsters heal at hospitals and using monster food to heal patients. Progress was made, even if slowly.

"Stacy," Y/n hugged her friend tightly and relished in the heartful squeeze she got back. Trusted friends were a treasure, she learned that when she became the Archmage, and that point was proven more than ever in the last three years.  
"I thought you were going on vacation, what are you doing here?" the young woman beamed, her green eyes looking tired but full of joy.  
"Came by to see you, of course," Y/n smiled and put her hand on Stacy's shoulder, urging her to walk alongside her and feeling her friends long volumptious bronze hair under her fingers.  
"Just couldn't stay away, huh?" the medmage moved her eyebrows suggestively and gave Y/n a sly smile.  
"You got me, you're just too damn cute, " her e/c eyes narrowed as Y/n smirked at her friend and lead her into the ' office.  
"Sorry to disappoint, I'ma one of those straight gals," the mage flashed her a smile and Y/n faked a scoff.  
"Oh, you're one of _those._ "  
"You wouldn't-"  
" _Breeders_."  
"Oh. My. Stars." the medmage striked a pose worthy of Mettaton, dramatically putting her hand on her chest in a gesture of utter shock and insultment. "You don't get to use that word, only we can use that word!"

The two burst out laughing and Y/n, still smiling widely, put the bag she brought on the table.

"Here, special delivery from Grillby's," she giggled as she saw Stacy's eyes widen in excitement.  
"I THOUGHT I SMELLED DELICIOUS FOOD! Fuck yeah, I love Grillby's, " the young medmage rushed to the bag and pulled out a container with a burger and fries inside.  
"Y/n. Remember how all our lives we wished for burgers to be healthy? I swear, monster food is the answer to all my prayers," Stacy took a huge bite out of the burger.  
"Stars, bless Grillby," she said as she closed her eyes, enjoying the taste. "I love that man- monster, fire elemental, whatever."  
"What's not to like," Y/n shrugged, happy to see her friend enyoing what was probably her first meal of the day."He's friendly, he cooks like a boss...plus he's _hot._ "

The medmage stopped mid-chew and looked at the Archmage, her brows furrowing.  
"Hwid hyow fsust...?"  
"Nonono, no talking with your mouth full," Y/n snickered. "You could still ask for that etiquette course. _Butter_ late than nev-Ah!"

Y/n's reflexes saved her as she dodged a pen that was thrown at her by Stacy.

"I swear, Y/n, you and Sans should just get married already!"  
That made the Archmage laugh even harder, she even wiped a tear from her eye as her friend proceeded to maul the burger.  
"Maybe I would, but I'm afraid _no body_ would show up at the altar!"  
"Oh that's it!"

Y/n could make a barrier of green magic to defend herself, but she figured she deserved it when she was showered in pens, pencils and other office essentials.

"You were supposed to be the kind one! You were the chosen one, Anakin!" Y/n squeeked, holding one hand up to shield her head and putting the other one on her belly that now ached from laughing.

"MEMES NOW?" roared the medmage, sending Y/n into another fit of laughter.  
"This is how the Archmage dies, laughing 'till her lungs collapse," Y/n huffed, trying to even out her breathing. There was nothing quite like hanging out with closest friends. Y/n did not have many of those, though she would admit that in the last three years she got quite a few more.

"Just...how do Mr. Graustein and Mr. Carter deal with you?" Stacy sighed, watching as the Great Archmage of the Guild of Mages was gathering writing utensils off the floor.  
"Well," Y/n smiled as she picked up a pencil. "Firstly, you know how horribly proper I can be if needed. And, more importantly, I think Herr Graustein just pretends to listen to me and Mr. Carter goes to all these international trips in my stead just to be away from me."  
"Huh, good point," Stacy smirked and, as Y/n put all the things she gathered on the table, asked curiously:  
"So...you don't have anything with Sans?"  
"Pfff, " Y/n scrunched her face."No, it's not like that. He's like a brother I've never had. Same goes for Papyrus. I absolutely love them, that's true. But not like That. It's like having two cool brothers without the agony of having them torture you as you were growing up...so thay can torture you now."

Y/n smirked and so did Stacy.

"I can see that," she nodded and ate another fry, " but I gotta say, that first year and a half you were acting like more of a mom."  
"My babies! My skelebabies!" Y/n mockingly wailed and as the medmage burst out laughing she did the same."Can you blame me? You know monsters. You know **Papyrus**."  
"Too true," the green-eyed mage nodded again. "So no crosspecies romance? It's all the rage now, you know."  
"I do know. Now that we've got the Supreme Court's ruling it's just a matter of time until I or Asgore get asked to officiate at such wedding, " Y/n sighed. The first few of those were bound to be a nightmare media coverage- and security measure-wise, but she was through worse.

"Anyway, I didn't come here just to bring you and Satoshi some magic food," the young Archmage changed the subject before she got lost in her thoughts. "I'm here because I'm going on vacation and I wanted to help you guys out here."  
"I thought you were going to say something like that," Stacy admitted and then her green eyes met Y/n's e/c ones."You were here last week. You know if you do this too often people will start expecting it from you."  
"People are jerks, you do something good for them too many times and they start taking it for granted," the Archmage shrugged."I know. But I'll be leaving for a week, so I'll have time to get my strenght back. And besides, after my vacation I'll be slammed with work anyways so I won't be able to come."  
"I get your point," the medmage surrendered without much of a battle."And, then again, I won't argue if Her Grace the Archm-"  
"Shhhhhh-shut it," Y/n dramatically scoffed and Stacy let out a laugh, smiling at her friend warmly.  
"Thanks for helping out and giving us a break, Y/n, really appreciate it."  
"You know I'm happy to help," Y/n smiled back at her friend just as warmly.  
"You would have made a great medmage, you know," Stacy said as the Archmade made her way to the door, grabbing a spare white labcoat with dark-blue lapels.  
"Thanks. But I'll settle for bringing you exquisitely decorated desserts," she answered as she opened the door.  
"There's dessert?!" the medmage almost dived into the bag and as she took out a medium-sized cake box, her green eyes were almost glowing.  
"Yep. Ordered it yesterday at a local bakery."  
"That's so nice of you, you shouldn't have! I-" as soon as Stacy opened the box, Y/n took a second to admire her expression before slamming the door from the other side, giggling at all the swearing that was coming from the office.

In the box there was a small cake with a photo of Marvel's cinematic Captain America's butt on it and the words "SWEET ASS" under it written with pink icing.

It was 15:14 as Y/n said her goodbyes to Stacy and her japanese colleague and walked to her car. She was planning on visiting for an hour or so, making a quick and unnoticable appearance, but of course word got out and everybody and their mom wanted to be treated by the Archmage, some even came from nearby hospitals ignoring the fact that there were other medmages around. So, determined to clean up the mess she herself made, she stayed for two more hours.

Magical healing was almost an art. Monsters, who were made from magic and who's souls consisted of love, hope and compassion, could use healing magic with ease, humans were a different thing altogether. Even mages. Similar to monsters, it also drained energy, but unlike monsters, it took concsious effort and practiced concetration to summon up the kindness, the willingness to take your own energy to heal others.

Y/n was good at it, however. Her HP was high, her magic strong and pure and before suddenly becoming the Archmage she was getting ready to become a medmage.

The heels of her boots made a steady rhythm as she walked, back straight and head high, looking over the nearby park where children were playing after school. As soon as the car door slammed shut, however, she let out an exhausted sigh and slumped in the seat of her car. HP levels and energy levels were two different things and while she was healthy and her mind was as hopeful as ever, her energy level was depleted by all the non-stop healing she had done in the last three hours.

Another sigh escaped her lips and she thought to herself if driving was even a good idea. Maybe she had overdone it a bit. But there were people, sick people. People who chose to put their faith in magic, in mages and, many of them, in monsters. And there was her friend, whom she wanted to help out. And was curing a few more people not worth her momentary weakness? She closed her eyes and sat in her car for a few more minutes, just listening to the world around. A child's gleeful squeal, a passing car, the chirping of a sparrow, the rustling of leaves.

The vibration of her phone.

Grumbling, Y/n reached to the passenger's seat and took her phone from her shoulder bag. Looking at phone, she saw that she got a message.  
It was from Asgore.  
/Dearest Y/n, I need to see you immediately, at the top of . It is of utmost importance. I will be waiting./

Y/n stared at the message for a moment, her mind was racing over possible reasons Asgore woud want to meet there of all places. An what was so important? He knew she had a flight in less than three hours. Was this really that dire of a situation he could not let Mr. Graustein handle? She called Asgore in hopes of getting some answers, but he wouldn't pick up.

That got her worried even more.

She could always catch another flight, if Asgore needed her help then it took priority over her wish to visit home. She only hoped it didn't require her magic as she was still recovering her energy.  
With that in mind, she started her car and, taking a deep breath, drove out of the parking lot and towards the Guild's castle. About half an hour later, she guided Obsidian out of the stable and rode the stallion for another half an hour or so until she reached 's more treacherous path, from where she decided to walk the rest of the way.  
On her way there, she called Asgore five or six times, trying to figure out what was happening or if the monster king was alright. All she got was a message that read "I am waiting, dear friend".

As she walked into the cave and carefully made her way through it, stepping over vines and looking out for Asgore, she felt uneasiness in her soul - something wasn't right. She wanted to call out to the king, but instead pursed her lips together tightly and kept to the shadows - was it paranoia kicking in or was there really something wrong here?

As she reached the huge hole in the center of the cave, she looked around once more. Asgore was nowhere to be found. She took out her phone and called him again, her worry about the monster and the nervousness about this situation making her stomach turn.  
Then she heard it, the ring of Asgore's phone. As she turned to the sound, she picked up movement out of the corner of her eye. In an instant, a green soulshield appeared, blocking several daggers made from dark grey magic. Y/n steadied herself and looked to the direction where the attack came from.

As she saw her attacker her heart dropped.  
It was ExF/n, the same ExF/n who was once dear to her, the same ExF/n who left the Guild spewing insults and accusations in Y/n's direction and hasn't contacted Y/n since. Y/n's eyes narrowed.

"ExF/n," she said, her voice dangerously calm."Where's Asgore?"

The other mage chuckled sarcastically.

"What, Y/n, too good to even greet an old friend? Gotten that prideful have you?"  
"ExF/n. Where is Asgore?" the Archmage repeated, dreading what the answer might be.  
"Oh, shut up, your precious monster king is fine, I just stole his phone," the once-dear friend scoffed at Y/n, the expression made their face unpleasant to look at. Y/n still remembered how it once used to look - long ago when they were children - innocent and cheerful. Not this hateful grimace.

"Look at you," the mage continued, "so worried for the goat-monster. And not a question to how I'VE been. You're pathetic, Y/n."

Y/n lowered her shield, standing straight and looking at ExF/n with cold eyes.  
"You made it clear that your affairs were none of my business, ExF/n, when you made a scene and left the Guild."  
"I WAS NOT MAKING A SCENE!" they screamed and the cave's walls ecoed their voice."I left because YOU decided to betray the human race! The council and the government may have swallowed your idealistic, lets-all-hold-hands speaches, but I still can't believe you DARED to let those things live among people."  
"Monsters are not a threat, ExF/n. How in the hell can't you see that? You're not stupid, that I know full well," Y/n looked over ExF/n carefully. They haven't changed much physically, maybe the lines of their face got somewhat sharper. The biggest difference was the feeling they gave off. What was once a troubling ting of negativity has now progressed into a full-blown hate-filled aura.

"Oh how generous, you thinking of me as not stupid," the former friend grimaced again. Then, they continued, mockingly imitating Y/n's voice. "Oh look, I'M the Great Archmage and I accept all races, even FUCKING MONSTERS."

The mage spit to the side.

"Disgusting. You're disgusting. You're not worthy of being the Archmage."  
That caused Y/n's eyes to narrow, beginning to glow dangerously, making her natural e/c more saturated.  
"You think you would have done a better job, ExF/n. I doubt that."  
"Of course you do!" the mage exclaimed."Everybody does! They like You, the peacemaker, the talented mage, the sickeningly polite bitch that you are! I may not have your fucking hypocricy and silver tounge to fool people into liking me, but at least I would have done what's right to cleanse the world of this monster filth."

Y/n expression remained unreadable, but she could feel her teeth clench harder. THIS was exactly the reason why ExF/n didn't get along with the rest of the Guild and why they left in the end. There was just so much senseless hatred in them.

"Did you even try to get to know any of them before judging? Or you just wasted the last two years sitting at home, watching me get things done and hating everyone?" Y/n inquired.  
Her thoughts, however, were focused on how to get out of this situation. Her energy was low, her HP was alright, however, so she could take a few attacks if needed and concentrate on attack precision instead of power. If there was one reason why she always beat ExF/n in training, it was her ability to keep calm and collected during their battles while the other mage often lost themselves to emotion.

Her questions seemed to hit a nerve as ExF/n grimaced.  
"I've told you, Y/n, I've told you since you first became Archmage - I could do it better. I would have dealt with this the right way. But NOOO, you had to be your prideful self, just couldn't let go of the title, huh? And now there's monsters all over the city!"  
"The Labyrinth chose me as Archmage, ExF/n. Not you, not even the council can object to that," Y/n stated plainly. They've had this conversation many times, Y/n had heard plenty of times over the years how jealous her former friend was of her title. That jealousy turned to resentmen, then to hatred and now, Y/n thought as she studied ExF/n's face, it may have morfed into something even uglier.

"Shut up, Y/n! Always so condescending! Makes me sick, you and your fucking principles make me sick," the mage spit out the words, every syllable dripping with hatred.  
Sensing that there was no way to avoid a fight, Y/n braced herself, feeling adrenaline rushing through her veins and her magic pulsing from her soul and through her body.  
"You know you could never beat me," the Archmage warned, still hoping that her former friend would reconsider.  
ExF/n threw her an enraged look.  
"I know," they replied grimly.

Y/n thought then that maybe her bluff worked and the rouge mage would stand down.

Just then, several more magic knives were thrown at her and were once again stopped by her shield, shattering on impact. A second later, the sound of an explosion scrambled her hearing and the ground under her feet shook violently and crumbled, falling into the abyss and taking her with her.

Falling down, Y/n tried to drag herself out via blue magic, but she was falling too fast and her energy was too low.  
Realising that, Y/n gave into fear, her mind singling out one single, instinctive thought before she was about to die from either the fall or the rocks that would bury her:

Her family and friends. The ones who loved her.

She had failed them miserably.

* * *

So that was the last Gaster-free chapter, yay!  
Took me long enough, right?

Also - dat turtleneck reference, who got it?


End file.
